Nicosia, Cyprus. Social media influencer Fidias Panayiotou on Wednesday submitted his candidacy for the forthcoming parliamentary elections in the Nicosia district as the top ballot nominee of Direct Democracy Cyprus, the party he founded and leads.
Candidacy submission
Panayiotou arrived late at the registration centre and missed his initial slot to file his candidacy, but later submitted his paperwork successfully.
Campaign statements
“We are tired of hearing politicians speak in a wooden language,” he said.
“We are tired of hearing politicians fight. The fatigue we feel unites Direct Democracy’s 56 [candidates],” he said.
He also attributed a quote about insanity to Albert Einstein, though Einstein did not make the remark.
“Those of you who are happy, vote for the four major parties,” he said, urging “those who are not” to vote for his party.
“Direct Democracy does not serve the system. We have shown it in practice, with the Direct Democracy app. The world is changing rapidly and the coming years will determine the future. Artificial intelligence can determine the future. Technology is advancing and politics must do the same,” he said.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.”
Party background and outlook
Panayiotou founded Direct Democracy Cyprus last year on the premise that party members would be able to directly decide on policy through a mobile application by voting on each issue in app-based polls.
A year earlier, he was elected as a member of the European Parliament as an independent candidate, and the party has been polling between fourth and sixth place ahead of the election.
Which issues would you want to see put to a vote through an app-based policy system?
